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Breasts, Bristol, and a broken thumb update

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 20: Rosie Galligan of England arrives at the stadium prior to the Guinness Women's Six Nations 2024 match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium on April 20, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

The other day I had Jo Currie from BBC come round to film a snippet of my ‘boob journey’ as we’re calling it. I had a breast reduction when I was 18, and over the years have started talking about it more openly. It was never a secret but I never felt the need to talk about it.

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Since speaking to other athletes and working with Boobydoo as an ambassador I have become more aware of the impact I can have on young girls and women. I’ve got nothing to hide and can confidently say having a breast reduction changed my life! If sharing my story can help some other people who might feel the way I did when I was younger, I’ll do what I can to help them.

Female health has been a bit of a taboo subject. There is so much more research going into the topic now that it is becoming more normal. I was in the fortunate position that my mum had a breast reduction when she was younger, so in that sense, she knew how I felt. For people who don’t have that support and that network around them, hopefully, I can be a figure to guide them in the right direction.

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People don’t really realise how important sports bras are. A high-impact sports bra has been measured to reduce breast movement by 70-80%. A G cup breast has been measured to bounce up to 14cm when running with a bra on so reducing that not only increases comfort but also confidence which is so important to performing well in my opinion.

Many women might not realise how beneficial it can be, and how it can change how you run and how you play. For years I ran like a T-Rex as I used my arms to anchor down my boobs as I ran! Now I run free whilst feeling good in kit.

There’s the breast health side of things, but pelvic health is also an important thing to be aware of. England are doing a lot of work at the moment looking into pelvic health for women. We want to be top athletes, but we also need to make sure that we’re protecting our reproductive organs as well so that both can work in unison with each other.

I’m really excited to go into my second year as an England contracted player. There’s been an increase in contracts and it’s great to see Liz Crake and Maddie Feaunati have been awarded their first full-time England contracts, as well as Lizzie Hanlon, Steph Else, and Mia Venner getting their first transition contracts. It’s amazing to see that the Red Roses are growing again, and it’s putting us in the best place possible going into hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025.

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It’s always great to know that you’re financially secure for another year, but as elite athletes we all want to be playing. Although my contract has been renewed and I know I’ve got a job for another year, it’s actually about how I can now use my time as a full-time athlete to make sure I’m in the best place to be in that starting shirt for England. If anything, it means you can actually focus more on your performance and getting those shirts for the big games.

My injury rehab has ramped up quite drastically since my recent operation to have the wires removed from my thumb. As soon as the cast was removed the England physio was straight into Saracens and trying to move my thumb around and getting range of movement in it straight away.

I think that was a bit of a shock to the system and I was a bit overwhelmed, but actually, the quicker you move it the quicker you can get back to normal. Although it was a very hard session which wiped me out, it’s put me in a good position this week where I can move my thumb a bit more and start doing some more rehab. It’s going to be a tough couple of weeks trying to get that movement back in, but it will all be worth it in the end.

It’s still about taking it day by day, I still can’t put any weight through it as such in terms of getting back into rugby, but I’m still around the girls and helping out. It’s about taking those small wins and being happy with the accomplishment that I bent my thumb further the next day; those are going to be my little goals at the minute.

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We’re really excited to be at StoneX for the semi-final against Bristol. When you’re in play-offs you always want to have as many home fans as you can, and being at the StoneX is where we perform best. The 4G pitch allows us to play the fast rugby that we want to, and we also know it so well.

We’re coming up against a good Bristol side, they like to play expansive, edge-to-edge rugby. They have also started utilising their kicking game through Holly Aitchison. It’s going to be a really good matchup and hopefully, it will be a good spectacle for women’s rugby.

We’d massively appreciate the support of the Saracens fans this weekend. The more fans here the better. Bring your flags, bring your drums and get yourself down to StoneX Stadium on Sunday.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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